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Wed, 22 Dec 2004

No cell phone subscriber for you

Wireless companies were the No. 2 sector for complaints to Better Business Bureaus in 2003, trailing only car dealers. They were the second-lowest ranked industry in the University of Michigan’s customer satisfaction index, second only to the hated cable companies.

…snip…

“We have tapped out the prime-credit segment in the U.S.,” said Roger Entner, a Yankee Group analyst. “Everyone who wants to have a wireless phone and can pass a credit check has one. Everyone who can pass a credit check and doesn’t have one — after ten years of a continuous barrage (of advertising), they’re not going to cave.”

[source…]

Why do I want a cell-phone again? Actually, just saw an advert for Verizon Wireless Internet Broadband. This is close to what I want. 300-500kbps everywhere, now that I’m a member of the laptop crowd is pretty appealing.

$79.99 monthly access gets you unlimited Verizon Wireless NationalAccess and BroadbandAccess service

…one of the fastest, fully mobile wireless Internet data solutions available. Quickly download complex files and view email attachments at typical speeds of 300-500 kbps, capable of reaching speeds up to 2 Mbps…

[source…]

01:46 CST | category / entries / links
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Tue, 21 Dec 2004

The history (and future?) of P2P

So, was reading blogs today and ran across Bram Cohen’s latest posts. Bram’s the smart guy who wrote BitTorrent. The less interesting of his two new posts is in response to the recent SwarmCast announcements.

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01:27 CST | category / entries
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Mon, 20 Dec 2004

Nifty: JavaScript + OpenGL == JiggleScript

JiggleScript is a development enviroment that combines the well-known web programming language JavaScript with OpenGL, the standard graphics API used in modern 3D games. The target audience are those that may be familar with JavaScript already from building web pages and would like to try their hand at something that might be a little more fun without needing to learn C or C++ or other “bigger” languages.

[source…]

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20:38 CST | category / entries / links
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Sun, 19 Dec 2004

Name Change Proposed for GIMP (Gnu Image Manipulation Program)

My problems with GIMP. (Score:4, Insightful)

But, there’s two problems I have with GIMP, and one of them might have been fixed and one definitely hasn’t.

First is the interface. [[[snip comments about interface]]]

Second is the name. It needs to change. This is not about being PC, it’s about reaching out to as many people as possible, and getting them to try out the GIMP. Will universities ever teach classes in a program that’s called ‘the gimp?’ Will companies ever take seriously an employee who says that he wants to install ‘the gimp’ on his computer? Y’all have to have gotten the same weird looks as me when you’ve suggested that people try ‘the gimp’. Have you ever told it to someone who uses a cane or crutches or is in a wheelchair?

[source…]

…and the response (classic slashdot).

Re:My problems with GIMP. (Score:5, Funny)

I agree that the biggest problem GIMP has for widespread acceptance is the name. Frankly, it has labored without the benefit clever self recursion for far too long!

So, in the interest of its long term viablility, I formally propose a name change:

GIMP Isn’t Microsoft Paint

will, I believe, catapult GIMP onto desktops around the world.

[source…]

I hereby declare that the GIMP has been renamed!

18:42 CST | category / entries / links
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Tue, 14 Dec 2004

The “Dell Tech Force”

Funny take on Team America (which I still need to see) / Thunderbirds.

“Quick, we must stop big iron!”

[source…]

Surprising to see RedHat get equal billing with Microsoft. Oracle / Ellison is in the background mixing things up (which, for your Oracle box, why should you pay the MS tax?).

Link via BBSpot.

08:30 CST | category / entries / links
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Thu, 09 Dec 2004

The Ultimate Matrix Collection

Picked up “Matrix the Ultimate” today. It’s got all the special editions of the three movies, along with some behind the scenes, making of’s, commentaries by philosophers, etc. Ten DVD’s, all new “digital transfers” (look great!), something like 30 hours of content, some of it new and interesting.

Watching it reminded me of the first time I saw the Matrix, along with some favorite lines.

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22:37 CST | category / entries
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Tue, 07 Dec 2004

In defense of “only one return statement”

I read this on Bruce’s blog (Bruce of “Thinking in Java” fame). He is actually responding to a questioner who writes…

One inspection that some of our developers favor is: “There must only be a single return statement within each method”

PMD classifies this as a “controversial” inspection. They do not comment on why it is considered controversial.

[source…]

I recently picked Java back up again (and “Thinking in Java” … great book!), and when I first started back with it, this “rule” (only one return statement in a Java function) was so hard-wired into my head that I thought it would actually be a compiler error to have more than one return statement in a function. This is not the case, but I still like to follow it for a variety of reasons. Please use the following sample code (the simplest and handiest bit of actual code I could find):

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01:14 CST | category / entries / links
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Wed, 01 Dec 2004

Human Trafficking

Just saw this on KERA. Not fun, and it is not easy to watch.

Child sex slavery is a result of numerous factors, including poverty and organized crime syndicates that profit highly from trafficking. The complicity of politicians and police officers make trafficking even more systematic, as well as more difficult to eradicate. As USAID health technical advisor Matthew Friedman says, “the amount of crime associated with [the child sex trade] is probably equal, if not exceeding, the drug trade… It’s very, very systematic.”

[source…]

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00:04 CST | category / entries / links
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